It seems a common conversation in America is the rising costs of living, in particular housing prices. A large part of the American dream was built around the idea of owning a home. The images were clear, A husband,a wife, 2 kids in a comfortable house. Television show like “Leave it to Beaver” justified this dream. The wife of Nobel Laureate Andrei Sakharov, Yelena Bonner noted this. In her book “Alone Together” where she traveled through parts of America, she said “In America, everyone wants a house”. It was said more as an entitlement. However something has changed in America and it is not for the better. The dream is no longer within reach.

The average age of first time home buyers has risen. In 1991 the average age was 28. In 2024 that has risen to 38. When my wife and I bought our first home (and only home) in 1995 I was 29 and she was 31 (cradle robber). The median cost for a home in America is $426,900. However in many metropolitan areas it is much higher. Seattle $853,000. San Francisco $1.2 million. Salt Lake City $572,000. Los Angeles $967,128. Dallas $440,500. The list goes on and on. Yes there are places that are cheaper like Dallas and Charlotte ($428,000). However you need the right job to save enough money to put a down payment on a house. In recent jobs I have had I have had co-workers under the age of 30. I have heard multiple times the belief that they will never own a home. When prices are increasing at a clip faster than wages it is hard to get ahead. Back to my first house, We paid $159,000. We put around 20k as down payment. Our house is paid off. The house is now essentially capital for our retirement. It may also be a home for one of our three children.

Gentrification is the process where a neighborhood transforms from low-income to higher-income due to an influx of wealthier residents and investment. Seattle, my home town, has seen this occur. The central district was Seattle’s black neighborhood. Over the past couple of decades it has transformed, it has shrunk. As housing prices increased and there was more demand for homes in Seattle, the homes in the Central District increased. I have always viewed this as capitalism’s natural progression. Though the owner would seemingly seem to make out financially well, they now have to find a new home. The question is where? You have to look out and away from the city. When a old neighborhood disappears only memories are left.

Capitalism is pure. I will give it that, but it is not perfect. It was never designed to be. It is a winner take all system. I do not know ratio of winners to losers, but in America we have our 1%. They have financial wealth and with wealth comes power. Everyone in America knows we suffer from disparity. A few at the top living high on the hog. While those at or near the bottom receive capitalism’s offspring: suffering. We are a wealthy nation, but too often turn our heads from a problem. We see the problem but cannot solve it unless we make a profit. Capitalism’s curse has always been the bottom line.

In the book “Nomadland” by Jessica Bruder, Bruder takes us on a journey. She adopts the life of those who live in their car or van. She has her own van called “Van Halen”. RIP Eddie. Living among those displaced from society she travels the country. Living in her van in the hot summers and cold winters. She gets to know those she shares the road with. All with their own background story. All of them, as they like to say, “houseless”. It seems it is a statement on the status of America that there are so many people displaced. Either houseless or homeless. In 2024 it was estimated that there were 771,480 people who experienced homelessness. The highest number since records began. How does this happen in the worlds wealthiest economy?

There is no solution in site for our housing crisis. As a society I believe we lack empathy. Over time we our happy to discuss a problem, we just do not want to pay for it. We have become complacent. But now more in folklore the American dream of home ownership is still remembered. Not fondly but with a passing of time, distantly. Too many Americans are being left behind in a world that is ever increasing in technological know how. America is a tense society. If was David Pilling who said in his book “The Growth Delusion”, it is not about the economy stupid. It is about happiness stupid. Much of the American dream of happiness has been about owning a home. Of building memories in that home. Those dreams have become remote as the cost of housing has made American dreams unachievable. Dream don’t always come true. In fact they may just be out of reach.

Good Night and Good Luck

Hans Henrik Hoffmann August 15, 2025